Missing woman’s body found in San Benito County

The body of a missing 71-year-old woman from Salinas was discovered in San Benito County near Highway 129, according to the Salinas Police Department.

The deceased woman, Janet Sorenson, had been missing since the evening of Dec. 7. The Salinas Police Department on Dec. 15 arrested her son – 29-year-old Christopher Sorenson – as the suspect in the murder case.

On Saturday, a resident called the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office and reported finding a deceased person on a private property. The sheriff’s office responded to the area of Highway 129 about a mile west of Highway 101 and recovered a “partially decomposed body,” according to a statement from Salinas police.

The Salinas Police Department then answered a notice from the local sheriff’s office asking for information on any missing persons cases.

Salinas detectives worked from there with San Benito County investigators and other area agencies to positively identify the body.

On Sunday, a Salinas police fingerprint technician made a positive match to Janet Sorenson. Her body was taken to the Monterey County Sheriff’s Department for an autopsy, which revealed she was a homicide victim.

“No further information about the cause of death will be released at this time,” according to the statement.

Initially after her disappearance, Sorenson’s neighbors and piano students reported her as missing. Investigators from there had information to believe her son murdered her.

Investigators found Christopher Sorenson in his parked van at Jack’s Park in Monterey.

“After serving a search warrant at Ms. Sorenson’s residence and van in which Christopher was found in, we believed there was enough evidence to show Ms. Sorenson had been murdered,” the announcement read.

Christopher Sorenson is booked at the Monterey County jail charged for suspected murder.

Investigators continue looking for any witness that may have seen Christopher Sorenson or his black 2000 Mazda MPV minivan on or around Dec. 7 and Dec. 8, while Salinas police released photos.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Salinas Police Department’s Investigations Division at (831) 758-7226.